Warsi warns IDF on deaths

The British government has warned Israel about its use of live ammunition following the deaths of a number of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the West Bank.

Foreign Office Minister Baroness Warsi said there were “long-standing concerns about the manner in which the IDF polices the buffer zone between Israel and Gaza”.

Speaking in the House of Lords on Monday, she said national security adviser Sir Kim Darroch had raised the matter with Israeli officials during a visit to the country last month.

Baroness Warsi said officials at the British embassy in Tel Aviv had also spoken to the Israeli defence ministry and national security council about the use of live ammunition.

Her comments were prompted by a question from Baroness Tonge, who said she was concerned by the “number of shootings at civilians and incursions into Gaza” since the ceasefire which followed Operation Pillar of Defence at the end of 2012.